Chapter 6 Religion Flashcards
Agnosticism
Belief that nothing can be known about whether God exists
Animism
Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events have discrete spirit and conscious life
Atheism
Belief that God does not exist
Autonomous religion
Religion that does not have a central authority but shares ideas and cooperates informally
Branch
A large and fundamental division within a religion
Caste
The class or distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu is assigned, according to religious law
Cosmogony
A set of religious beliefs concerning the origin of the universe
Denomination
A division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations into a single legal and administrative body
Ethnic religion
A religion with a relatively concentrated spatial distribution whose principles are likely to be based on the physical characteristics of the particular location in which its adherents are concentrated
Fundamentalism
Literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion
Ghetto
During the Middle Ages, a neighborhood in a city set up by law tone inhabited by Jews. Now used to describe a section of a city where members of a minority group live because of social, legal, or economic pressures
Hierarchical religion
A religion in which a central authority exercises a high degree of control
Missionary
An individual who helps to diffuse a universalizing religion
Monotheism
The doctrine of or belief in the existence of only one God
Pagan
A follower of a polytheistic religion
